OK, indulge me. What are your top 5 films that leave the audience feeling cynical, dark, or spiritually violated? (Not that that's a bad feeling for a film to give...)
In the Company of Men
Your Friends and Neighbors
The Ice Storm
The Magdelene Sisters
Amores Perros
"It's a good deal...it's a good deal for ME!"
Roger Dodger
Fight Club
About Shmidt
anything by David Lynch (esp. Eraserhead)
Stalker
Syrianna
not the top 5, but they're the first that came to mind
Good 'nuf. Forgot about Roger Dodger. I didn't think Eraserhead was cynical, though. Just wack.
"It's a good deal...it's a good deal for ME!"
David Lynch's films aren't cynical.
shareNo particular order:
The ice storm
Igby goes down
About schmidt
the minus man
roger dodger
I am beginning to doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion!
the ice storm
naked
crimes and misdemeanors
the graduate
clockwork orange
Haven't seen naked, but because it got two rec's here, I'll try it out.
Crimes & Misdemeanors? I dunno - Woody Allen, even when doing a story about murdering a lover and hiding it, never quite gives me that cynical edge that, say, Neil LaBute gives a film. I recovered pretty quickly from C&M, but In the Company of Men disturbed me for weeks.
"It's a good deal...it's a good deal for ME!"
Why all the writing about "Igby Goes Down" and "About Schmidt"? Not only did those films have an abundance of humor, they both have extremely hopeful endings.
And it's been a while since I've seen 'Roger Dodger,' but I don't remember feeling that way about it. Could someone tell me why it was so cynical and left you feeling bad?
rscheel, I'd tend to agree with you. I think that Igby and Schmidt had much more hopeful endings and therefore weren't what I would term cynical.
What I was getting at here with the original post was, what films have you seen that really troubled you, left you feeling that there was nothing good in the characters, left you feeling sullied or worse, or left you wondering if the world was just going to hell anyway. I just thought of a new one to add to my list:
No Man's Land
Definitely a hopeless ending that I couldn't get over for a really long time.
"It's a good deal...it's a good deal for ME!"
Closer
The Virgin Suicides
In the Bedroom
The Rules of Attraction
lipssocoldtheyburn has the best list but i must add what another posted in reqium for a dream not only to this list but at the top of the top of the top!!!
share1) Shape of Things
2) In the Company of Men
3) The Pledge
4) Mystic River
5) Welcome to the Dollhouse
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1. American Beauty (can't believe no one has mentioned that yet)
2. Anything by Alexander Payne (Citizen Ruth, Election, About Schmidt, Sideways)
3. Happiness
4. The Ice Storm
5. Ghost World
These go to 11share
Adding Palindromes to the list... I've got to stop watching Solondz movies... They make the baby Jesus cry!
I am beginning to doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion!
The Pianist
Immortal Beloved
The Ice Storm
Seabiscuit
Paper Moon
"Oh sweet mystery of life at last I found you!"
The Pianist?!?! Seabiscuit?!?? I'm not sure papermoonfan knows what "cynical" means.
Anything from Todd Solondz...what about "Kids" and "Bully"?(Larry Clark can get cynical too.)
"The Pianist?!?! Seabiscuit?!?? I'm not sure papermoonfan knows what "cynical" means."
I'm not sure if the person mentioning The Pianist was referring to Roman Polanski's film, but if he was, I agree with you. I would understand the mentioning of Michael Haneke's film with the same name (or, La Pianiste) though, which was based on Elfriede Jelinek's novel The Piano Teacher. This is a very dark story which I think would fit perfectly on this list.
"Adding Palindromes to the list... I've got to stop watching Solondz movies... They make the baby Jesus cry!"
Nice, that made me laugh!
I forgot about palindromes, damn that one is hard to stomach.
What about I Stand Alone by Gasper Noe?
What's cynical about Sideways or Schmidt?
shareDon't know that I'd call American Beauty cynical. Obviously any intelligently written film about middle class suburban life is going to appear at least a little cynical (it would be pretty artistically dishonest not to pretend there's at least some problems with "suburban life"), but ultimately I think American Beauty stands apart from most other films mentioned on this forum in that it's bold enough to also celebrate suburban life (without trying to "peddle the American Dream"). Lester is an incredibly hopeful character, and even the ending, thanks to the brilliantly scripted voice over, gives it's audience a rather unwavering optimism. Thus, I'd call it kindly satirical of people's universal flaws rather than ultimately cynical. Same with Payne's work (although I've not seen Citizen Ruth, so I can't comment on that one!).
Anyway, in the spirit of the board, here are mine:
1. Little Children
2. Irreversible (for it's glorious false happy ending)
3. Vivre Se Vie
4. Rosetta
5. There Will Be Blood
I disagree with Donnie Darko. However, I agree with Prozac Nation.
shareSpoiler alert
Donnie Darko with the ending where he kills himself in the womb and Clerks with the director's cut ending are pretty cynical. With the dvds and alt endings a lot of movies now a days have a cynical and not so cynical ending on the dvd.
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I think you are refering to Butterfly Effect. I don't remember Donnie killing himself in the womb.
American Psycho
Welcome to the Dolhouse
The Ice Storm
A Clockwork Orange
Eyes Wide Shut
"I'm in cha-cha hell!"
umm... yea i don't agree w/ the "donnie darko" one either. i mean i didn't see this "other" ending listed below, but even so, i've never felt "cynical" after watching it. (any of the fourty times i have!) ... but i haven't seen most of the other movies listed here in general. i agree w/ "virgin suicides" and "american beauty" being somewhere on this general "cynicism list" though!
**proud co-prez of the SPARKLE-MOTION GLITTER COMPANY...because what's the point in living...?*
im sure a lot of you wouldnet agree but this one has left me feel bad and the charchters were completely hopeless: The Long Goodbye
"The life is a scene badly written in which we must play"